Attract Young People to Food and Agriculture

Attract Young People to Food and Agriculture

The U.S. food and agriculture sector is valued at nearly $1.8 trillion of U.S. Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) and constitutes more than 8 percent of the domestic workforce.1 The sector includes production,
processing, manufacturing, and retail, as well as pharmaceuticals and textiles. It encompasses 2.2
million farms, 900,000 restaurants, and 400,000 registered food manufacturing, processing, and storage
facilities.2There are 22 million people employed in agriculture-related fields3 in over 200 career options,4 and an anticipated 54,000 new jobs in agriculture-related fields will be created every year between nowand 2015.5

Young people are critical to the future of this sector. With a focus on food and agriculture literacy for all
students, AGree believes food and ag topics need to be introduced to students earlier and maintained
with rigor throughout their education. The education system should provide young people with the skills,
knowledge, technology, and background to be career and college ready.

A gap exists between jobs available in this sector and workers who are qualified to fill them. Given the
large number of jobs in food and agriculture-related fields and the national significance of this sector
to U.S. security and to the economy, AGree believes more needs to be done across the supply chain.
Promoting innovative workforce development programs, eliminating financial and credit barriers that exist
for beginning farmers and rural entrepreneurs, and providing resources to support relevant programs in
2- and 4-year institutions will create a stronger foundation for continued economic growth in this sector.

Rural economic development and infrastructure are also key to attracting and retaining young people.
Rural communities and small businesses that support the food and ag sector require additional
investment, including expansion of physical and technological infrastructure.

AGree’s 2013 Positions

Support the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, with provisions
to make science and agriculture science part of the national Annual Yearly Progress (AYP)
assessment, or of other state equivalents.

Support dedication of 20 percent of funds within the Perkins Reauthorization Act toward
agricultural technology and education.

Support new education and school-to-work programs that strengthen the knowledge, skills, and
experience young people need to be successful in agriculture-related fields.

Support provisions to increase mandatory funding and re-authorization of programs in the
112th Congress Senate-passed version of the farm bill, including the Beginning Farmer and
Rancher Development Program, Rural Micro-Entrepreneur Assistance Program, grants for youth
organizations, and grants to land-grant colleges and universities for food and agriculture science
programs and education.

Achieving Transformative Change Over the Long Term

Invest in food and agriculture literacy for all students by ensuring that rigorous and relevant
food and agriculture science programs, curricula, and tools are available and widely used
throughout the K-12 education system.

Meet the workforce and consumption demands of the future and address workforce
shortages by attracting more young people to careers in food and agriculture. Eliminate financial
credit barriers to rural businesspeople and to new and beginning farmers to ensure a broad,
sustainable, and safe base from which the sector can grow.

Focus on rural economic development and infrastructure by supporting investment and
innovation that enable diverse, sustainable 21st-century food and agriculture ventures and
economically stable rural communities.

Moving forward, AGree will work with partners in industry, education,
government, and across the food and agriculture supply chain to achieve
food and agriculture literacy, promote systems for rigorous workforce
development, and support investment and innovation in rural economic
development and infrastructure through such efforts as these—

Include science in Annual Yearly Progress assessments: In order for young people to meet the
demands for skilled and talented labor in the food and agriculture sector, they must be scientifically
literate, as tested nationwide in school assessments. AGree will explore and support policy conditions
to ensure that science is tested across the nation and the results count at national and state levels.

Ensure a food- and agriculture-literate population: A focus on food and agriculture literacy must
begin in kindergarten and continue through high school. An agriculture-literate population will ensure
that tomorrow’s leaders are better prepared to make policy and legislative decisions that have a
profound impact on the nation’s food sources, growth and innovation in the food and ag sector,
and health of domestic and international populations.

Meet tomorrow’s workforce demands: With agriculture-related industries’ job growth on the rise,
policies, programs, and practices need to be in place to support innovative ways of filling these jobs
with talent that is academically and scientifically prepared to deliver.

Eliminate barriers to innovation and success: New entrants into farming and ranching, as well
as other capital-intensive careers, should have incentives to pursue these jobs as part of meeting
the future demand for food. Barriers need to be lifted and new systems streamlined to facilitate
production, processing, manufacturing, and distribution of food and ag products and outputs
from other rural industries.

Support strong tax policies: Continue to preserve and protect ranch and farmland, through tax
policy. Consultative support and systems for ongoing tax credits and assistance to farming and
ranching families to transition their properties will ensure that farming traditions, productivity, and
on-the-ground innovations are not compromised or lost.

Focus on rural economic development and infrastructure: Coherent and comprehensive
legislation and policies are needed to ensure that rural communities and their inhabitants have the
means, abilities, and infrastructure to innovate, grow employment, and support the U.S. food and
agriculture system.